Project Valkyrie
by Lecmat
Summary: This story is the 3rd part of my series of fanfictions. It is directly linked to "gunshot" and "ghosts from the past" (you really have to read them first if you want to understand that one) Ziva discovers that she is pregnant. She does not know how to deal with that news. This story will introduce a new character with whom Ziva is going to feel linked.


\- 9am - ncis office -

Ziva was reading her emails, she was trying to ignore Mcgee and Tony who were arguing. They were both watching Ziva. They were clearly talking about her.  
Mcgee: "ziva!"  
Tony: "nah! Gibbs!"  
Mcgee: "what ? No Gibbs is too ..." he stopped and checked behind him "I mean you know Ziva is younger"  
Tony: "yes exactly! The guy has more experience"  
Ziva: "you do realize that I can hear you right ?" She had said that without even looking at them. She was tense.  
Gibbs stormed in: "GRAB YOUR GEARS". Tony and Mcgee stopped their debate and joined Gibbs and Ziva in the elevator.

\- crime scene -  
The team entered the house and noticed the dead body on the carpet next to the couch. Obviously the victim had a brutal fight with his murderer. The man was on the ground. He was shot in the head. Gibbs said:  
-"Ziva you take pictures, DiNozzo, the neighbors, Mcgee you check the house"  
Everyone nodded. Ziva was crouched next to the dead body. She was taking pictures of the wounds. Ducky was next to her. He was giving his first observations to Gibbs. The man was shot close range. Gibbs said: "it was an execution". Ziva froze. She was not feeling good. She was trying to concentrate on the work but it was impossible. Gibbs noticed it. He was looking at her. Ziva panicked. She could not hold it any longer. Gibbs shouted: "OUT NOW !". Ziva rushed outside the house and threw up in the first bush she found. She felt ashamed but she was glad that none of Mcgee or Tony had seen that. She came back inside and finished her work. Gibbs did not say a word about it.

\- Back into the office -  
The team was working on the case. DiNozzo and Mcgee were continuing the conversation they had before. Mcgee said:  
-"what ? No you said no weapon just hands"  
-"I never said that" Tony answered  
-"yes you did! You said "hand to hand combat?""  
-"alright! Whatever. With or without a weapon that does not change my answer"  
Ziva sighed. She was trying to focus on the case but it was impossible with them. She was still feeling dizzy and tired. She was still very tense. Tony noticed it. Ziva stood up and walked to the restroom to put some water on her face. She was not sure if the water actually helped but she was feeling a bit better. She walked out from the restrooms and stopped. Tony was waiting for her. He said: "you ok ?"  
She did not wanted to have this conversation right now and he could see it on her face. She just answered: "yes Tony I am fine". He tried to come closer but she stepped back and said: "we should go back". As she was saying that she turned and walked away from him. He was worried. He did not know what was going on. He did not know if he had done something wrong. Or said something wrong. He walked back to his desk.  
Back in the bullpen. Mcgee was in front of Gibbs desk: "I found something boss! I cracked his computer down. I found something interesting" he clicked on the remote to show a picture of a 7 years old girl shooting with a gun. She had a fierce look on her face: "it's a file about a kid. It's old pictures, records and notes about the training of a girl" Ziva interrupted him "lieutenant Brooks never had a child" Mcgee continued: "I know. I did some research and I found this" he clicked again "a secret program called "project Valkyrie". It was led by a paramilitary organization called Skelltech. Their goal is to upgrade humans through an intensive physical and mental training to create the "ultimate soldier". An highly trained soldier with no fears that will execute orders without asking questions. A soldier that can deal with every dangerous situation on every warzone" Tony laughed: "they spent millions of dollars on a secret program when they could just have met Ziva" Gibbs head slapped him for interrupting Mcgee. Mcgee continued: "Unfortunately the project was aborted because of a lack of results" Tony asked: "you think he was working for skelltech ?" Mcgee answered: "I have found emails exchanges between Lieutenant Walker and Skelltech. They were using codes but I am pretty sure this kid was an experimentation. I think he raised her and trained her to be a super soldier"

As Gibbs was leaving to go to Abby's lab he said: "Mcgee, DiNozzo, go back to the crime scene, check if we missed something"

\- crime scene -  
Mcgee and Tony were checking every room of the house. Tony sighed: "what does he expect us to find here ? We already checked the house, there is nothing here" Mcgee noticed scratches marks on the floor. He took his knife out and planted it on the floor. He took a wood board out from the floor and took a USB key out. He waved it at Tony. Tony thought [damn it ! He was right AGAIN]. Mcgee gave the key to Tony.  
Tony was now upstairs checking the bedrooms, he was speaking loud so that Mcgee could hear him from downstairs: "Have you noticed something different with Ziva ?" Mcgee was surprised: "no, why ? What did you do to her ?" Tony felt insulted: "what ? Why would it be my fault ? I didn't do anything..." he whispered: "I think" as he was finishing his sentence he heard a sound from the room next door. Mcgee was now outside to check the garage. Tony took his gun out and started searching for the source of the noise. Suddenly someone ran through the corridor. Tony shouted: "Hey! Stop NCIS". He started running after him. He could not see his face because of his hood. He grabbed him by the arm but he turned back and punched him. He disarmed Tony and pushed him down. Tony was now on the floor facing the person who was now pointing his gun at him. He realized the "he" was actually a "she". It was her. He recognized the look of that little girl on the picture Mcgee showed them earlier. She was an adult now. Probably 25. She took the USB key on the floor next to Tony and took the ammo out from Tony's gun. She did not wanted to kill him she just wanted to be sure that he would not try to stop her. She threw the gun away and left the house right before Mcgee came in. He saw Tony on the floor with his nose bleeding: "WHAT HAPPENED ?" He helped him to get back on his feet and drove back to NCIS.

\- NCIS BULLPEN-  
Ziva was sitting at her desk. She was really tired. Gibbs looked at her with a mocking smile and said: "you have to tell him". She instantly respond: "I know". She panicked. She had answered out of reflex. She did not meant to confess it but it was too late. She looked at Gibbs with a questioning look: "how do you know ?" He laughed as an answer and asked: "how far along are you ?". She looked down and said: "I don't know, probably a month or two". He looked at her with an approving gaze: "you have to tell him"  
She sighed again. He was right but she was too scared. This was not planned. They never talked about it.  
Tony and Mcgee walked out from the elevator. Tony was holding a tissue on his nose. Ziva stood up and walked to them: "what happened ?" Tony thought [She seems worried, it's a good sign] he answered: "that girl happened" he pointed at the picture of the girl that was still on the screen. Ziva was taking care of his nose. "She was there too boss. She took the USB key Mcgee had found. OUCH ! It hurts!" She answered: "stop being such a baby" he said: "easy for you to say, it's not your nose that was punched by a highly trained super soldier"  
She laughed: "if it was me we would still have that USB card and my nose would be fine". Tony corrected her "key not card". She walked back to her desk and answered: "whatever"

-8pm-  
It was late and the investigation would probably not progress until tomorrow. Gibbs told the team to go home. Mcgee was at his desk. DiNozzo walked in. He looked at Ziva's desk. It was empty. He turned to Mcgee and asked: "where is she ?" Mcgee looked astonished: "she left 20 minutes ago. I thought she had told you". Tony looked back at Ziva's desk. He had to know. He grabbed his stuff and walked to the elevator.

\- Ziva's apartment -  
She was sitting on the couch. She was trying to focus on a book but her mind was away. Someone knocked on the door. She was not waiting for anyone and it was late. She walked to the door and looked through the spyhole. He was there. Standing. Of course he was there! She opened the door. He looked at her with his sad and worry face. She looked at him and then stepped back to let him in. She closed the door. Nobody was talking. None of them knew what to say. She was scared. She knew it was time. They said at the same time: "Tony I..." "Ziva I..." and both stopped. Ziva said: "sorry, go on, you first" he continued: "I am sorry if I did something wrong to you I ..." she felt so bad for him. While she was trying to protect herself by keeping her secret she was hurting him. She stepped forward to get closer to him. She wanted to apologize to him. She grabbed his face and pressed her forehead against his. He was a bit relieved by this. He whispered: "I miss you Ziva" she whispered: "I know, I am sorry" His hands were now on her hips, their forehead still pressed against one another. He continued: "what is going on Ziva ?" Her eyes were closed. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her womb. For a moment everything was quiet as if the time had stopped. The truth was out. She was relieved and even more scared at the same time.

He was feeling exactly the same. He was relieved that she did not wanted to leave him and scared about what this meant.  
They spent most of the night talking. Ziva apologized to Tony:  
-"I know I should have told you sooner but.. I was too scared"  
-"scared of what ? Scared that I would run away ? Scared that I would not assume it. I thought you knew me better than that"  
-"I don't know what I was thinking... this was never part of the plan for me and suddenly.. there it is. I was lost"  
-"remember that thing I told you at the airport ? After your father's death. I still mean it" he was referring to the time he told her she was not alone in Hebrew. She smiled. Her eyes where full of tears. She was tired. He stood up and held his hand to her. She took it and he pulled her from the couch. He kissed her once more. It was the most soothing kiss she ever had. He led her to the bed. He fell asleep with his hand on her womb.

\- same time - Gibbs' house -  
Gibbs walked inside his house. He dropped his jacked on the coat rack. He took a beer from his fridge and walked directly down to his basement. He turned the light on, looked at the workbench and smiled. Someone was there. He said: "you know that trespassing in a federal agent's house is a very stupid idea". She walked out from darkness. He recognized her immediately. She answered: "keeping your door unlocked is a very stupid idea". He leaned on the workbench: "I could arrest you for assaulting my agent". She corrected him: "I was defending myself". He continued: "you were trespassing a crime scene". She looked at the boat: "why are you building a boat on your basement ?" He did not answered her question but he asked: "you took something from my agent... where is it ?". She took the USB key out from her pocket: "this ? I checked it, there is nothing that will help you" he walked to her and took it. They were staring at each other. None of them wanted to be the first to flinch. He started: "why are you here ?"  
\- "because I want them to pay"  
he asked: "who ?" She stopped: "those who killed him". He was tired of her not telling him the truth: "if you want my help, you gonna have to start being honest with me. You stay here! And you tell me everything!"

It was almost 2 am. She had told him everything she knew. She was an accident, her mother did not wanted to raise her so she gave her to adoption. Skelltech took her as the first specimen for their new experimentation on human upgrade. It was a secret project and a totally illegal one. She had only learned this a few month ago. Lieutenant Brooks thought she was not safe anymore and for her own sake he had told her the truth. Gibbs was tired. He stood up and walked upstairs. She followed him. She was heading to the door when Gibbs said: "what are you doing ?" She looked at him with a questioning look: "it's late, I am going home. We are done right ?" He answered: "no we are not. You stay here" he pointed to the couch "tomorrow you come with me at NCIS and you gonna testify" he did not let her time to complain and walked upstairs to get to bed.

\- the next morning - 8 am - NCIS bullpen-  
Tony, Ziva and Mcgee were working at their desk. Gibbs walked out from the elevator and walked straight to his desk. Tony could not believe what he saw. She was there. Again. He looked at her and looked back at Gibbs: "what is she doing here ?" His nose was still painful. Ziva was enjoying the moment. Gibbs answered: "she's our witness, she's gonna help us". DiNozzo could not believed what he just heard: "WHAT ? she stole from us, we should arrest her" Gibbs threw the USB key to Mcgee and said: "check that Mcgee. And don't loose it this time". Mcgee plugged it to his computer and started working.  
DiNozzo was looking at the girl. His look was not friendly. She walked to him and said with a smile: "Sorry about the nose. I'm Hailey Brooks" Tony did not answer. He was looking grumpy. Ziva walked toward her and said: "don't mind him. He is very sensitive when it comes to his nose. I'm special agent Ziva David. This is special agent Dinozzo and Mcgee" Hailey looked surprise: "oh you are the girl they were talking about the other day" Ziva looked astonished. Tony panicked he was shaking his head as to tell Hailey to shut up. Ziva looked at him and said "really ? And what did they say ?" They kept on talking about it and Hailey explained everything to the team. Ziva was feeling connected to that girl. Hailey had been trained her entire life to be a killer, to execute orders. She had no family, no friends, nobody she could count on. She was strong and fierce. She reminded her of herself and also Tali.  
Ziva took her to the cafeteria to get a coffee. She was intrigued by that girl. They sat at a table. Hailey felt that she could talk to her: "you know the last time we saw each other... my father and I ... I almost killed him..." Ziva was listening carefully: "I was upset. He lied to me. My entire life is just a series of lies. It was like my entire world had been crushed down. Can you imagine that one day you wake up and you realize that the man that you have called dad your entire life was in fact just a man who used you to get money"  
She laughed and said: "trust me when it comes to fathers I can imagine a lot of things" Hailey look at Ziva with a questioning look. What did she meant. Ziva continued: "I know what it's like to realize that your father is not the hero you thought he was. My father... he was a complicated man. I was on a mission... things went wrong... he left me to die in the desert of Somalia... so I know what you feel"  
Hailey was shocked. The only thing she said was "wow, that's ... pretty messed up"  
Ziva put her hand on Hailey's hand: "he loved you. You were not just a paycheck for him. We found a diary on his computer. We wrote you letters. He wanted you to be safe. He wanted to protect you from them. You were maybe just a job for him at first but he loved you" Ziva was intrigued by Hailey's attitude. She was cold. She was not crying. She was never taught to express her feelings. This attitude reminded Ziva of herself when she was young. She had changed. Hailey would too.  
Hailey said: "I was there...when they killed him. He told me to go and hide. But I saw everything. That guy who did it. He was just like me. No fear. No emotions. He just pulled the trigger and left. I don't want to be like that" Ziva put her hand on Hailey's shoulder and said: "you will change. Give yourself time. Trust me"

Ziva and Hailey were now back into the bullpen. Gibbs asked Hailey to check pictures of skelltech's employees to see if she could recognize the man who shot her father. She could not. That man was probably not an official employee. Gibbs said: "We have to get inside. Tony, Ziva find a way to get into skelltech" They walked back to their desks. Hailey said: "I want to come too" Gibbs, who was on his way to update Vance, stopped and stared at her: "no, it's too dangerous and someone could recognize you" once again she had no time to complain. She turned to Ziva and asked: "is that his way of ending every conversation ?" Tony who was next to McGee answered: "no sometimes he ends conversation like that" and he head slapped Mcgee. Mcgee complained and Tony went back to his desk.

The team has manage to get Ziva and Tony inside of the Skelltech campus. It was a very secured building. They were progressing inside. Gibbs and Hailey were on a car parked next to the campus. Mcgee was in MTAC. He had taken care of the cameras. The security staff were actually looking at a video loop of the surveillance cameras. Ziva and Tony entered a room. It was down on the ground and very secured. McGee had unlocked the door for them. They were looking for files that would link Lieutenant Brooks and Hailey to Skelltech activities. Mcgee was focused on opening a breach into a highly secured computer. He did not noticed 2 men on the cameras that were walking toward Ziva and Tony. When he saw them it was too late. Tony and Ziva were surprised. Both men jumped on them. A brutal fight began. Tony's mind was focused on Ziva. She could not be hurt. He instantly regretted that she was there. It was too dangerous for her in her condition. The man who was fighting Ziva punched her in the stomach twice. Tony panicked and shouted: "STOP! STOP!" He raised his hands. The fight had to stop. Ziva was confused why was he surrendering so easily. One of the man asked: "who are you ? How did you get in here ?" Tony, who was out of breath, said: "tell your boss that we want to talk about project Valkyrie" they both looked at each other. How did he knew about that.  
Mcgee was giving updates to Gibbs on the phone: "they got caught, boss" Gibbs was upset. Hailey asked: "what is going on ?" He repeated what Mcgee had just told him. Hailey did not wanted them to be in danger. She had seen what skelltech could do to protect their secret. She jumped out from the car and ran to the building. Gibbs yield: "HEY! COME BACK HERE" he was even more upset. He jumped out from the car too and followed her. Once inside the building she took the security guards down and took a gun from one of them. When Gibbs walked in she was gone. He waved his NCIS badge so that everyone knew that he was a federal agent and he progressed inside the building.

Tony and Ziva had been led to the director's office. They had blood on their faces. The man was sitting at his desk. He stood up as they entered: "who are you ?"  
Tony started: "friends of Hailey Brooks".  
The man looked confused: "who ?" Tony explained: "the girl you stole for you little experimentation". The man smiled: "oh that's the name he gave her ? That's cute. Here we only refers to her as specimen number 5" Ziva thought that this man was evil. She yield: "she is a human being not a number" As she was saying that Hailey broke through the door pointing her gun to the director. He was there. The man responsible for anything. She was furious. She was ready to pull the trigger. Gibbs got in too. He was aiming at Hailey. He said: "Hailey stop ! You can't do that. Let us handle it" the director was smiling at her. This made her even more furious "he took everything from me. Since I was born !" The director laugh "ahahah I think that we actually gave you everything. Without us you would not have lived" Ziva shouted "SHUT UP. Hailey look at me. If you kill him now you let him win. Remember what you told me ? You can change now. This is your chance" Hailey was confused. Ziva was right. She had been trained to kill but she never actually did it. But she was never taught to surrender. She was shaking out of rage. She slowly lower her gun. Gibbs walked to her and took her gun away. He threw handcuffs to DiNozzo who used them on the director. Gibbs asked to Hailey if she was alright. She was still not sure that this was the right thing to do.  
Gibbs was taking the director of Skelltech into custody. Tony was worried about Ziva: "you have to go to the hospital" Ziva said: "Tony I am fine..." he stopped her: "no you are not ! I will take you to see a doctor even if I have to do it by force" she smiled and accepted to follow him.

\- 1 hour later - emergency room -  
Tony was loosing his patience: "come on ! We could have died three times already". A doctor finally arrived to take care of her. She led them to the examination room: "alright I see there that you took several punches on your abdomen. How far along are you ?" Ziva answered: "I don't know yet". The doctor said: "ok. You haven't got an ultrasound yet ?" Ziva answered negatively. "Alright, now is the time then. Ok just lay down we gonna check to see if everything is alright. It's gonna be cold" Ziva was scared. She was holding Tony's hand so strong that it was hurting. After long minutes the doctor finally said: "alright here it is" she pointed at a spot on the ultrasound screen "can you see it ?" They both looked at the screen. They could not believed it. It was there. The doctor checked for any signs of injuries "everything looks normal to me I am gonna check the heartbeat and we will see but to me everything looks fine" she pressed a button and they heard a sound. It was a normal heartbeat. "Here is mommy's heartbeat..." she smiled to Ziva and moved the ultrasound: "and here is baby's heartbeat" it was a lot faster that Ziva's heartbeat. This was the most beautiful sound Tony has ever heard. The sound of his baby's heartbeat. He looked at Ziva and kissed her forehead. Everything was fine. They baby was fine. They were both relieved.

\- 8 pm - NCIS bullpen -  
Tony and Ziva walked out from the elevator. McGee was talking with Hailey about what would happen next about Skelltech. They had arrested the man who murdered Hailey's father and he had taken a deal with NCIS to tell anything he knew about Skelltech methods. McGee looked at Ziva and asked her: "hey. Are you alright ?" He was not aware about Ziva's condition. Tony looked at Ziva with a childish look: "can I tell him ?" She smiled and nodded. He walked to McGee and put his hands on his shoulder as if he was talking to a child: "you gonna have to be the big boy now Timmy" McGee was confused. Tony continued: "there gonna be a new DiNozzo in town" McGee was shocked: "you pregnant ?" Ziva nodded with a large smile on her face. Gibbs walked to her and kissed her forehead as a father would do. He held his hand to DiNozzo and shake it. McGee was still not recovering from the news: "you will have two kids at home now Ziva" Tony head slapped McGee.  
Hailey was looking at the scene from the big window. Gibbs walked to her. She smiled: "it must be good to have a family. People you can count on"  
Gibbs looked at the scene and smiled. He turned back to her and held her a NCIS cap and a file. She took those and looked at the cover. It was written "FLETA registration form". She was confused. He did not say a word and walked up to Vance's office. She looked back at the form. He wanted her to register for the Federal Law enforcement Training Academy. He was offering her a job. A new family. She smiled. She walked back to the team. It was time for her to go. She said:" thank you for everything and congratulation" Ziva smiled. Hailey held her hand to Tony: "no hard feelings ?" She pointed her nose and smiled. He shook her hand and said: "nah! No hard feelings". Ziva hugged her. She was sad to see her go. She knew she could have helped her more. She released her and said: "come back to see us sometimes". She smiled at Ziva and answered: "I think we will see each other quicker than you think... AND I want to come back to see if your baby has its father's nose" she laughed. Tony grinned. She waved at them and walked to the elevator.  
Tony turned to Mcgee: "alright we have a new contestant: who would win a hand to hand fight between Ziva, Gibbs and Hailey ?" Ziva sighed and they both started to argue again.

\- THE END - 


End file.
